Course Browser

Search and explore Duke Law's wide variety of courses that comprise near every area of legal theory and practice. Contact the Assistant Dean for Academic Affairs to confirm whether a course satisfies a graduation requirement in any particular semester.

NOTE: Course offerings change. Faculty leaves and sabbaticals, as well as other curriculum considerations, will sometimes affect when a course may be offered.

A consideration of the basic problems of civil procedure designed to acquaint students with the fundamental stages and concerns of litigation, e.g., jurisdiction, pleading, discovery, trial, choice of law, and multiparty actions. In addition, this course will highlight a number of specialized topics including the role of juries in deciding civil disputes, the ethical responsibilities of the litigation attorney, and the development of alternative dispute resolution systems. At several points, this course will focus on an analysis of the procedural system's operations as revealed through empirical studies.

An examination of the distribution of and limitations upon governmental authority under the Constitution of the United States. Included are study of the doctrine of judicial review of legislative and executive action, the powers of Congress and the President, the limitations on state governmental powers resulting from the existence or exercise of congressional power, and judicial protection against the exercise of governmental power in violation of rights, liberties, privileges, or immunities conferred by the Constitution.

An analysis of liability for personal injuries and injuries to property. The law of negligence occupies a central place in the course content, but this course also considers other aspects of tort liability such as strict liability, liability of producers and sellers of products, nuisance, liability for defamation and invasion of privacy, and commercial torts. The subjects of causation, damages, insurance (including automobile no-fault compensation systems), and workmen's compensation are also included.

"Legal Writing: Craft & Style" is the new moniker for the "Advanced Legal Writing Workshop." This series of thirteen workshops is for 2Ls and 3Ls who wish to hone their legal writing or editing skills. Half of each workshop consists of a teaching component that focuses on topics from clarity to cohesiveness to effective style. The other half is spent working as a group on exercises—flawed sentences or passages from legal documents or articles. In addition to the exercises, required written work includes three short written assignments and peer reviews of each of these using criteria developed over the course of the workshop. These peer reviews will be reviewed in turn by me. In addition, I will be available to work one-on-one with any workshop participant who has a lengthier piece on which he or she would like feedback. The workshop offers two credits. It is not graded.

The workshop might be particularly useful to:

law review editors,

students on moot court,

students writing law-review notes or independent-study- or seminar papers (with the permission of the guiding professor),

students wishing to polish their writing samples, and

students wishing to improve the effectiveness of their writing for any reason whatsoever.

A study of the special problems that arise when a case is connected with more than one state or nation. Topics include the applicable law (choice of law), personal jurisdiction, and the recognition and effect of foreign judgments.

A study of the basic rules of criminal procedure, beginning with the institution of formal proceedings. Subjects to be covered include prosecutorial discretion, the preliminary hearing, the grand jury, criminal discovery, guilty pleas and plea bargaining, jury selection, pretrial publicity, double jeopardy, the right to counsel, and professional ethics in criminal cases.

This course is a study of the legal limitations on criminal investigative practices contained in the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Amendments to the Constitution. Topics include search and seizure, arrest, the exclusionary rule, electronic surveillance, the privilege against self-incrimination, interrogation, confessions, and the right to counsel.

Much of the business of governing takes place at the state and local level, rather than on the federal level. Competent attorneys must consider the effect that various state and local actors will have on their clients' interests, whether they represent large corporations, small franchises, or individuals. This course is designed to offer an overview of the issues concerning state and local governance from both a theoretical and practical perspective. The course will acquaint students with the broad issues surrounding state and local government, rather than focus on any particular state or municipality. Among the topics of discussion: state constitutional law, structure, and rights; distribution of authority between federal, state, and local governments; federal, state, and local government coordination and conflict; issues surrounding state and local provision of services and employment; state and municipal governance and oversight, and the role of localism and direct democracy in our constitutional structure. Evaluation will be based on class participation, class exercises, and an examination.

A study of the law of employment discrimination, focusing mainly on the federal law that prohibits discrimination based on race, sex, age, religion, and disability. Issues of both practice and theory are discussed.

This course critically assesses the international and domestic laws, institutions, and legal and political theories that relate to protecting the fundamental liberties of all human beings. The course emphasizes (1) specific "hot button" topics within international human rights law, such as extraordinary renditions, hate speech, and lesbian and gay rights); (2) the judicial, legislative, and executive bodies that interpret and implement human rights; and (3) the public and private actors who commit rights violations and who seek redress for individuals whose rights have been violated. Course requirements include a final exam, a negotiation exercise, and student participation in class discussions.

This course examines Professional Responsibility as it applies to representing poor and/or underrepresented clients (in criminal and civil cases), as well as to lawyering for social justice causes, through impact litigation and other means. We will explore the substantive law of Professional Responsibility, focusing on ethical challenges frequently encountered in social justice representation (e.g., representing clients who are uneducated or culturally different than the attorney, practicing with limited resources in an environment of many unmet legal needs, defining who the client is when representing a group or cause, and the tensions created when the requirements of Professional Responsibility are at odds with the attorney's personal morality or vision of social justice). While we will work mostly from the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct, required reading will also include scholarship on the unique ethical and moral dilemmas of social justice lawyers, and students will be encouraged to think critically about the rules of Professional Responsibility and their application in social justice contexts. Throughout the course, we will consider and practice the lawyering skills needed to ethically represent clients and social causes, through in-class resolution of hypotheticals and experiential learning, such as simulations or role-playing. Several practicing, social-justice attorneys will join us to guest-speak.

This course examines in detail the "law of lawyering" relating to such issues as the formation of the attorney-client relationship, confidentiality, communications with clients, conflicts of interest, regulation and discipline of attorneys, and numerous other areas relating to the lawyer's role in American society. In addressing these issues, we will consider the extent to which the law governing lawyers derives from the concept of a learned profession, as well as the degree to which the ethics of lawyering may differ from personal ethics and morality. While particular attention will be paid to the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct, the class will also examine other sources of relevant law, including the Restatement (Third) of the Law Governing Lawyers, court decisions, statutory rules, and administrative regulations.

This course examines the principles of legal ethics and professionalism. Our focus will be on identifying and responding to the key issues faced by a civil litigator, and on the model rules of professional conduct, case law, and ethics opinions that a lawyer must consider in resolving such issues. Topics include the formation and termination of the attorney client relationship, conflicts of interest, and communications with the court and opposing counsel through the discovery and trial process. We will examine the balancing of the duty of advocacy with the duty to the administration of justice. We will also explore issues such as admissions, discipline, and common law firm associate dilemmas such as billing and changing law firms. During the semester, students will prepare two short (3-5 pp) memoranda. There will also be an open book in-class exam at the end of the semester.

This course covers the limitations on the information that can be introduced in court codified in the Federal Rules of Evidence. We will take up the issue of relevance, including the rules concerning the balance between the probative value and the prejudicial impact of evidence and the special problems of character and credibility. We will also address the rules pertaining to the reliability of evidence, including the prohibition against hearsay and its many exceptions, the constitutional constraints on the testimony offered during criminal trials, scientific and expert testimony, and authentication. The course touches on evidentiary privileges as well. Professor Griffin will focus on the text, legislative history, and common law roots and development of the rules. "Readings" in her course include cases, problems, some theoretical materials, and film. Professor Beskind will primarily assign readings in a treatise rather than individual cases. In his class, students will work from two case files, one criminal and one civil, taking the role of advocates and arguing the evidentiary principles being studied as they arise in the cases.

A study of legal and policy issues relating to the family. Topics include requirements for marriage, nontraditional families, obligations at divorce, establishing parenthood, and adoption. Grading is based on a final examination, class participation, and written work relating to a visit to family court and completion of a divorce settlement exercise.

This course examines the constitutional and statutory doctrines regulating the conduct of American foreign relations. Topics include the distribution of foreign relations powers between the three branches of the federal government, the status of international law in U.S. courts, the scope of the treaty power, the validity of executive agreements, the pre-emption of state foreign relations activities, the power to declare and conduct war, and the political question and other doctrines regulating judicial review in foreign relations cases. Where relevant, we will focus on current events, such as military detention of alleged terrorists, human rights litigation against multinational corporations, the prosecution of piracy, and controversies over immigration enforcement.

An introduction to federal income taxation, with emphasis on the determination of income subject to taxation, deductions in computing taxable income, the proper time period for reporting income and deductions, and the proper taxpayer on which to impose the tax.

Many attorneys are required to evaluate financial data, notably financial statements from corporations, on a regular basis. The need is not limited to corporate attorneys; indeed litigators in securities, antitrust, malpractice, or general commercial litigation frequently must analyze financial information. This course serves to both introduce basic accounting principles and practices and their relationship to the law, as well as to study a number of contemporary accounting problems relating to financial disclosure and the accountant's professional responsibility. Students with accounting degrees, MBAs or who have taken more than a couple of accounting courses are not permitted to enroll. Also, Business Essentials may not be taken concurrently with this course.

The course is intended to introduce law students to essential principles of accounting, financial statement analysis, finance, business valuation, the economics of the firm, financial instruments, capital markets, and corporate transactions.

This course is not open to students who majored in business, have a business background, are JD/MBA candidates, or who have taken Financial Information (LAW 260). Students who take Business Essentials will be precluded from taking Financial Information (LAW 260) in the future.

This course examines the powers and limits of the law to right those who have been wronged. We will cover different forms of remedies—including money damages, injunctions, and declaratory judgments. We will also explore ancillary remedies or enforcement mechanisms, such as the power of courts to hold parties in contempt. The course spans both private and public law contexts, with specific case studies ranging from school desegregation to the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund. Ultimately, the goal of the course is to provide an understanding of how the law responds to transgressions of substantive law, and also to provide a richer account of the power of our legal institutions more generally.

The course will explore the legal and policy landscape of the HIV/AIDS epidemic primarily in the United States. We will employ a multi-disciplinary approach to teaching about HIV law and policy, including the legal issues faced by persons with HIV disease. Speakers will include medical specialists, social workers, and persons living with HIV. Topics covered include HIV-related stigma and discrimination, HIV testing and public health laws, confidentiality and privacy rights, estate planning issues, HIV criminalization, health disparities, access to health care and health insurance, permanency planning for children and other family law issues, employee benefit issues, and torts and HIV-related private lawsuits. There is an opportunity for student presentations on AIDS Law issues. In lieu of an exam, there is a paper requirement for the course. The course is helpful but not required for those intending to enroll in the Health Justice Clinic.

This seminar is derived from the three-credit Children and the Law course. Where the latter is a broad survey of the law governing decision making for children and the relationship between parents and the state that arises in that context, this seminar focuses in on the three areas of the law that tend to generate the most cultural and legal controversy: education, religion, and maltreatment. Students will be required to prepare memoranda throughout the semester on related topics including home schooling, curriculum reform, vaccination law, proxy consents to medical treatment and research, corporal punishment, and the Fourth Amendment’s special needs administrative search exception. The course can be used to satisfy the upper-level writing requirement. There are no prerequisites. However, because the subject matter builds on the foundations of constitutional law, property, and torts, it will be useful to have taken these classes.

Today’s leading dispute-resolution lawyers of the United States, and every nationality, must be equipped for the international practice of law. Their clients increasingly include multinational corporations and foreign governments who carry out commercial transactions, invest in public infrastructure, and exploit natural resources often in collaboration with other corporations and governments of diverse nationalities around the globe. Clients may also include citizens and community groups affected by such projects. Given the sometimes conflicting interests of the various stakeholders, some of these undertakings evolve into complex disputes that cross not only geographic borders, but also cultural, linguistic, political, and jurisdictional boundaries. Fortunately, the contracts and treaties which govern these projects, and which have proliferated exponentially in recent decades, provide for the resolution of disputes through international institutions, such as the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), and the Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC). Rights and remedies of private parties may be available, either alternatively or additionally, through national courts, local arbitration forums, and diplomatic protection. And mediation of international disputes is on the rise, under existing institutional rules or through ad hoc proceedings such as before the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA). As you prepare yourself to represent global clients, you must be equipped to navigate the available forums and the applicable legal regimes to advance their interests.

This course will take students through an evolving, hypothetical international dispute, to empower students with practical knowledge, skills, and strategy. Each module of the course will require students to explore a different dispute resolution forum and address a different facet of the dispute governed by a different source of law (including treaties; contracts and concessions; and local, foreign, and customary international law). Students will be required to read selected excerpts from leading cases and treatises and to engage in substantive discussion and debate in class. Students will also be required to complete practicum exercises to develop transferable skills for all forms of international arbitration and litigation. All hypothetical scenarios, materials, and assignments will be based on real cases from the professor’s experience, to ensure that students gain practical knowledge and skills for their own international practice of law.

This course will explore selected topics in Law and Politics of American Democracy. We will examine the way the law and other forces have shaped the structure of American political participation, and we will consider alternative directions American democracy might take. Time permitting, we will focus on the right to vote, racial and political gerrymandering, campaign finance, political parties, ballot access, reapportionment/redistricting, and the Voting Rights Act.

What decides legal cases? One obvious answer is: the law. Judges apply the law to the facts of a case and an answer presents itself. This simple understanding of how law and the judicial process work may be true in many cases, but it is not true in all of them. Social scientists have sought to explain judicial decisionmaking by reference to a variety of non-legal factors, including judges' personal characteristics, their caseloads, and their relationships with each other. The social scientific study of courts raises a host of interesting questions.

For example, on a multi-member court like the Supreme Court, does it matter which Justice is assigned to write the opinion, or will the majority (or the whole Court) bargain to the same outcome anyway? If opinion assignment matters to outcomes, how might judges' choices about the division of labor influence the content of the law? How do higher courts ensure that lower courts comply with their decisions? Does the need to police lower courts alter legal doctrine, giving us more bright line rules and fewer fuzzy standards? Similarly, does the fact that certain groups, like the Chamber of Commerce, are repeat players, affect the outcome of cases? Does it affect doctrine? Finally, does it matter who is under the robes? Does the ideology of the judge, or her race or gender, matter to the outcome of cases? (Which cases?) If so, is it possible to predict how judicial characteristics will shape the law? Should our answers to these questions affect how we choose judges?

This course that will examine these questions and many like them. In law schools, these sorts of questions get limited attention: our focus is primarily on the legal doctrine or rules themselves. Social scientists take a very different approach, studying the behavior of judges rather than legal doctrine and trying to understand what accounts for judicial outcomes and the shape of legal institutions. This course will marry the social science literature and the questions it raises to a set of normative problems within the law itself.

This is an advanced civil procedure class taught in the Moot Courtroom for those interested in large scale litigation, with an emphasis on practical application and stand-up courtroom 3-minute "mini- oral arguments" on many of the key cases. The course will focus on the problems of large multi-party and multi-forum civil cases and how courts and litigants deal with them. Coverage will include the practical steps litigators need to take as well as decision points at the outset of litigation, joinder devices, especially (but not only) class actions; federal multi-district transfer and consolidation; litigation over the appropriate federal or state forum, coordination among counsel in multi-party cases, ethical issues, big-case discovery problems; ad hoc federal-state litigation coordination; judicial case management techniques and issues; and ways of accelerating or terminating potentially or actually protracted cases, including settlement, alternative dispute resolution, representative trials, mini-trials and claims processing facilities.

The Criminal Justice Ethics course is centered on the law governing lawyers operating in the criminal justice system. It explores some of the critical issues facing lawyers in the roles of defense counsel, prosecutor, judge, etc., and includes several guest speakers and visits to a prison and courthouse. Case studies and problems are drawn from North Carolina cases, including some of the Duke Wrongful Conviction Clinic's cases of actual innocence.

Lawyers face non-legal, analytical issues every day. Business lawyers need to understand a business in order to represent their client properly. Litigators need to judge the best route in adopting a litigation strategy. Family lawyers routinely need to value a business. Environmental lawyers need to understand economic externalities. Social lawyers need familiarity with financial instruments that have positive and negative attributes. In these and many other situations, lawyers tend to learn on the job, and even then the pressures of the moment often means that they learn just enough to move on to the next problem. This course is designed to help all lawyers develop a more systematic way of thinking about their work. Students taking this course will find it foundational in running a business, advising a business, or litigating business matters that go beyond the strict letter of the law. In this sense, this is not your standard doctrinal law school course. Rather, it is designed to give students the tools necessary to interact with the business community and run a company or firm. While there is no prerequisite for this course, students should be comfortable with numbers and graphs. A high school level of mathematics is required and students should be ready to use algebra, fractions, exponents, and the like. There will be no calculus.

The areas of focus include:

Accounting. This section, covering basic accounting, is essential to understanding your clients, evaluating deals, and running a law firm.

Finance. Beginning with the foundations of financial theory, this part of the course will cover key concepts in corporate finance and asset valuation.

Microeconomics. In order to resolve disputes, facilitate commerce, and better cross-examine witnesses in complex litigation, a good understanding of the basics of microeconomics is important. This part of the course will cover these ideas.

Statistical Analysis. Statistics play an important role for lawyers in many ways. They drive many governmental regulations; they help determine damages in cases; they help triers of fact determine the likelihood of an event. In this part of the course, we will examine how lawyers can use statistics in a variety of situations.

The course grade will be made up of class participation, (roughly) weekly problem sets, case analyses, and a final examination.

Education Law: Constitutional, Statutory, and Policy Considerations This seminar introduces students to the legal standards that govern public schools in the United States. Constitutional topics include the right to a public education, the financing of public schools, desegregation and equal opportunity of students, limitations on student speech, school discipline and the right to due process, religion in schools, and privacy rights of students. Statutory topics include federal laws such as the Every Student Succeeds Act, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Title IX, and the Equal Educational Opportunities Act. Policy topics include school reforms, such as charters and vouchers, and the ongoing inequities in US public schools, and the school-to-prison pipeline. A research paper is required; successful completion of the paper will satisfy the upper-level writing requirement. A course pack will be used in lieu of a textbook.

This course examines the role of the federal government in the criminal justice system, focusing on significant federal offenses criminalizing fraud, public corruption, drugs, money laundering, racketeering, firearms, and terrorism. We will also consider prosecutorial discretion, plea bargaining, and sentencing in the federal system. The objective of this course is to master doctrine and to learn how to debate federal criminal law's merits and proper limits. Public policy, theory, critical thinking, and oral advocacy will be emphasized.

The grade will be based on mock arguments and a take-home examination.

Federal criminal law is recommended either for second- or third-year students. It is especially helpful for students who will have a federal judicial clerkship, and those who anticipate a career in litigation. There are no prerequisites.

This course focuses on section 1983 of the United States Code, a Reconstruction-era statute that enables private parties to sue any other person who "under color" of law deprives them of the "rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution and laws" of the United States. Class participants will become familiar with the theoretical, procedural, and practical aspects of civil rights litigation, including constitutional and statutory claims, defenses and immunities, and available remedies, including attorney fees. Related U.S. Code provisions concerning discrimination in housing, contractual relations, employment, and voting are examined where relevant. Exam-based evaluation.

This course will examine a number of topics related to the law of animals, including various issues that arise under the laws of property, contracts, torts, and trusts and estates. It will also examine various criminal law issues and constitutional law questions. The class will consider such issues as the definition of "animal" as applicable to anti-cruelty statutes, the collection of damages for harm to animals, establishing standing for animal suits, first amendment protections, and the nuances of various federal laws.

This outplacement course will provide students the opportunity to work on legal matters related to animals. Students are required to complete a minimum of 100 hours of outplacement work under the supervision of practicing attorneys over the course of the semester. Placements may be with local attorneys in private practice (handling veterinary malpractice cases, for example), local district attorneys' offices (working on cruelty prosecutions), or national animal advocacy organizations (such as the Humane Society of the United States, the Animal Legal Defense Fund, or People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals). The course instructor will assist in making the placements for the students and will maintain close communication with both the students and the placement supervisors on the amount, type, and quality of the work performed. The outplacement will require legal drafting such as preparation of complaints, examination outlines, and legal memoranda.

Students' grades will be based on the quality of their clinical work assessed by the outplacement supervisor and the course instructor.

The course considers the structure and powers of the federal courts and their relationship to the political branches and the state courts. The topics covered include justiciability, congressional authority to define and limit federal court jurisdiction, federal common law and implied rights of action, the application of state law in federal courts under the Erie doctrine, civil rights actions and immunities of state officials and governments, and habeas corpus. The focus of the course is on structural constitutional considerations relating to both the separation of powers between the three branches of the national government as well as the federalism relationship between the national government and the state governments.

This installment focuses on the nature of the Article III judicial power and its place in the constitutional scheme. We begin with the justiciability doctrines (standing, ripeness, mootness, and finality), then move on to Congress's control over federal court jurisdiction and adjudication in non-Article III courts (e.g., bankruptcy courts and administrative agencies).

This installment also focuses on the relationship between federal and state courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court's power to review state court decisions, the Erie doctrine's restriction on the common lawmaking powers of federal courts, and the parameters of federal question jurisdiction.

This installment addresses a broad variety of public law litigation, including private rights of action to enforce federal statutes and constitutional litigation against federal and state governments and their officials. We will give significant attention to both federal and state sovereign immunity, as well as to doctrines of qualified and absolute immunity that protect individual government officers. The course also discusses the roles of state and federal courts in hearing public law litigation, including principles of judicial federalism limiting federal court interference with state judicial proceedings. We conclude with an extensive unit on federal habeas corpus remedies, including both challenges to federal executive detention (including the War on Terror cases) and collateral attack on state criminal convictions.

This survey course examines topics in law relating to gender through a series of different theoretical perspectives. Topics include employment, the family, domestic violence, school sports, sexual harassment, pornography, prostitution, rape, affirmative action, women in legal practice, pregnancy, and sexual identity. Some film is used in class. Evaluation is by an end-of-term exam and three short "reaction papers."

This course will examine the role of social movements in the development of U.S. constitutional law. Conventional theories of judicial independence do not define a legitimate role for social movements, but recent advances in legal scholarship have underscored the co-constitutive relationship between law and social movements. Accordingly, this course will explore how participants in social movements engage the Constitution and how these encounters shape constitutional doctrine, social institutions, public discourse, and movements themselves. We will investigate the processes of mobilization and counter-mobilization and reflect on how movements often spur constitutional change through means other than constitutionally specified procedures. We will also consider why movements fail and will critically analyze rights-based approaches to reform. The course will place particular emphasis on the involvement of social movement actors in the transformation of civil rights law. Course readings will draw from a wide range of historical, sociological, and legal sources.

This course will provide an overview of selected law and policy topics in immigration law. It will consider the following questions: what criteria are used in determining who can come to the United States as an immigrant or visitor? When and why may noncitizens be forced to leave? How should choices about admission and removal be implemented? It will focus on current topics in immigration enforcement, including the “sanctuary” movement, border enforcement, immigration detention, family separation, and the merger of criminal and immigration enforcement. Discussion will be based on a variety of sources, including statutes, caselaw, administrative enforcement guidance, social science research, and legal scholarship. Assessment will be based on written papers and class participation.

Legislation is one of the most important forms of law in modern American society. Indeed, it has been said that we are living in an 'age of statutes.' Almost every aspect of legal practice involves construction of statutes, whether defining the jurisdiction of the courts or establishing the norms to which society must conform. In this course, we will examine the legal theory and practice of the making and enforcement of statutes. The course will begin with a study of the legislative process, with special attention to theories that seek to understand why some bills succeed where others fail. The next unit of the course will consider statutes as a unique source of law, comparing them to the common law and the Constitution. We will then move to the heart of the course, which will focus on how judges and other legal actors (agencies, enforcers, etc.) interpret statutes. There will be a take-home final for this course.

The law of how we use nature - timber, mining, bioversity, fisheries, water rights, and agriculture. Also an introduction to the historical and constitutional geography of American public lands: the national parks, forests, wilderness system, and grazing lands, and disputes over federal versus local control of these. There is special attention to the historical and political origins of our competing ideas of how nature matters and what we should do with it, from economically productive use to outdoor recreation to preserving the natural world for its own sake. Attention also to the complicated interplay of science and law.

In a first-year torts course, it is possible only to scratch of the surface of products liability law’s history, substantive and procedural complexity, theoretical underpinnings, and policy implications. Given its intricacy, practical significance, and usefulness as a window into tort law more generally, products liability is an ideal subject for an upper-level torts course. This dedicated products liability course offers students the opportunity to delve more deeply into the thorny legal doctrines and problems of proof that arise in the practice of products liability law. The course also gives students the chance to revisit many issues of general importance to tort law, including: strict liability versus negligence as potential bases for recovery in tort; the allocation of liability among plaintiffs and multiple tortfeasors; the interaction between doctrines of liability and problems of proof; and the relationships among economic regulation, social insurance, the law of contracts, and the law of torts.

Social Science evidence has come to play an increasingly important role in civil and criminal litigation at all levels of American courts. It is used, for example, in cases involving constitutional litigation, common law issues, trademark infringement, obscenity, discrimination, identification of criminal offenders, potential jury prejudice, misleading advertising, eyewitness reliability, sexual assault, self-defense, dangerousness, and the fashioning of remedies. The goal of this course is to teach law students to become sophisticated consumers and critics of social science evidence. Additionally, the basic methodological principles can be used to critique other forms of evidence including forensic, medical and epidemiological evidence. Students need not have a social science background.The course involves a mixture of lectures and active learning. The active learning portion of the class will involve groups of three to four students assigned to a substantive topic involving empirical issues. Near the end of the semester each group will make a presentation to the class.

This course examines legal responses to minors who break the law. It opens with a discussion of the development of the American juvenile court, which can be divided into three periods, beginning with the establishment of the Chicago Juvenile Court in 1899. It considers jurisdictional issues—when does the juvenile court have the authority to act? When and how do adult criminal courts assert jurisdiction over minors?—as well as questions concerning the application of traditional criminal law rules and doctrines, particularly those regarding the mens rea requirement, to offenses by minors. It explores the law that governs investigatory encounters and pretrial procedures as well as pre-adjudication processes (i.e., intake and detention) in the context of juvenile court. It then examines modern juvenile court practice, adjudication, and disposition with a discussion of the role of lawyers for children in delinquency matters.

This course is an in-house legal clinic in which students provide legal representation for persons with HIV/AIDS, cancer, and other serious health conditions. Under the close supervision of clinical instructors, students represent clients in cases that are related to the client's health condition, including: estate planning (wills, living wills, health care powers of attorney, powers of attorney); government benefits (Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security Disability); permanency planning for children; health and disability insurance; guardianship; health-related discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations; health information privacy; and other civil cases related to health. Students are certified under North Carolina's Student Practice Rules.

Classroom work consists of a day-long intensive training at the beginning of the semester as well as a weekly, two-hour seminar focusing on substantive law, lawyering skills, and health disparities and stigma. Students also meet individually with clinic instructors each week. Each student carries an individual case load and is required to meet a minimum hours requirement. The course is offered for 4, 5, or 6 credits, with hour requirements of 100, 125, and 150 respectively.

AIDS and the Law is recommended, but not required for enrollment in the clinic. This clinic is offered each semester. Students must be at least in their second semester, second year to take this clinic, because of the requirements of the Student Practice Rules.

Students are required to attend the day-long clinic intensive training session. Students who have previously completed a clinic may skip the morning portion of the intensive.

International LLM students who wish to enroll in a clinic must seek the permission of the clinic's faculty director prior to the enrollment period. Permission is required to enroll but permission does not constitute entry into the clinic.

Ethics Requirement

Students are required to have instruction in the Model Rules of Professional Conduct prior to, or during, enrollment in the Health Justice Clinic. The following ethics classes meet the requirement: Ethics of Social Justice Lawyering (LAW 237), Ethics and the Law of Lawyering (LAW 238), Ethics and the Law of Lawyering in Civil Litigation (LAW 239), Criminal Justice Ethics (LAW 317) and Ethics in Action (LAW 539).

Available to students who wish to participate for a second semester in the Health Justice Clinic. Students enrolled in advanced clinical studies are required to participate fully in the case work portion of the clinic, performing 50 or 100 hours of client representation work, depending on number of credits selected (50 hours = 1 credit; 100 hours = 2 credits), but will not be required to attend the class sessions. Consent of Director of Clinic required.

Students in this clinic will focus on policy work rather than direct client representation. Students will work on policy initiatives aimed at increasing access to quality, comprehensive health care for low-income individuals living with chronic illnesses like HIV/AIDS. The policy work will focus on barriers to access to care and prevention, including implementation of health care reform in North Carolina, funding disparities throughout the Southern US, HIV-related stigma, criminalization of HIV, and access to HIV medications.. Students will work to inform policy recommendations and advocacy strategies at the national, regional, state and county levels in executive, legislative and regulatory arenas. Over the course of a semester, students can expect to accumulate a wealth of hands-on experience in current and emerging health policy issues on the state and federal level. Students will conduct legal and fact-based research to inform policy recommendations, produce in-depth reports, comment letters, presentations to policy makers, and draft legislation or regulatory guidance. Each student will focus on particular policy project(s) and will be required to spend a minimum of 100 hours on their clinic project(s). We will have regular group meetings with students and clinic faculty throughout the semester.

IMPORTANT:Instructor permission is required for enrollment in the AIDS Policy Clinic. This course may not be dropped after the first class meeting.

Instructor Permission Required for Enrollment
To enroll in the Clinic, you must have successfully completed at least two semesters of Law School and have instructor permission. It is helpful to have had experience working on HIV/AIDS or other health health policy or related issues, or to have taken AIDS and the Law and/or the AIDS Legal Assistance Project.

The course introduces students to the practice of appellate advocacy and the appellate process. Students learn about the rules of appellate procedure and strategies for effective appellate advocacy while refining their legal writing and oral advocacy skills. The central project entails researching and writing an appellate brief (for appellants, an opening and a reply brief) and presenting an oral argument. The entire class will be assigned the same case. Half the class will be assigned to represent the appellant and the other half will be assigned to represent the appellee. Each student will be paired against a student from the opposing side for purposes of briefing and oral argument, so that each student can file a responsive brief and deliver a responsive oral argument. The briefs are reviewed and scored by appellate judges, who then preside over and score the orgal arguments (each student's brief and argument will be presented to one judge; at the conclusion of each oral argument, each student who participated in that argument will meet one-on-one with the reviewing judge).

The problem assigned in the course will be the same on used in the Dean's Cup competition. But Appellate Practice is not a prerequisite for participating in the competition. Students who cannot take the course are eligible for the Dean's Cup and are encouraged to participate.

Students seeking to enroll in the appellate clinic are strongly encouraged to contact Prof. Andrussier before enrolling.

This is a year-long clinic, and enrollment is limited to third-year students (i.e., students enrolling in this clinic must have completed fourth semesters of law school). Because of the time necessary to handle an appeal through briefing and argument, this is a year-long clinic offering 3 credits in the fall and 2 credits in the spring, and each student must enroll in both semesters.

For a practitioner, the appellate process focuses largely on researching and writing; thus most of the work in this clinic will entail researching and writing. Work will include reviewing the trial court record to identify appealable issues, conducting sophisticated legal research, drafting research memos, drafting appellate briefs, participating in tactical decision making, preparing the excerpts of record for the court of appeals, and preparing for oral argument if argument is scheduled. If oral argument is calendared during the academic year, a student may also argue the appeal, with client and court permission (only one student on a team can argue any appeal). In addition, the clinic director will meet with the students in a seminar setting early in the year to discuss appellate advocacy and the law necessary to handle the appellate work.

It is helpful (though not required) to have previously taken appellate practice. Students should not enroll in both courses simultaneously. It is recommended that students enrolling in this course have completed or have contemporaneously enrolled in the federal courts course.

Important:

As with other clinics, this course may not be dropped after the first class meeting.

Clinic students represent real clients, enter appearances in court, and operate under court-imposed deadlines. Consequently, if scheduling conflicts arise, work on a clinic case must take priority over extracurricular activities (such as moot court).

Because of tight court-imposed deadlines and the demands of appellate practice, this course requires students to be exceedingly flexible with their schedules and to dedicate significant amounts of time in the briefing process and in preparing for oral argument. The briefing schedule overlaps with fall break, and for reply briefs the schedule has often overlapped with a portion of winter break. Oral argument preparation has often overlapped with spring break, and indeed a court may calendar oral argument during or within days after spring break. Hence the need for flexibility.

Like students in all other Duke clinics that meet in the fall, appellate clinic students must attend the all-day clinic intensive held on a Friday in early September.

Students seeking to enroll in the appellate clinic are strongly encouraged to contact Prof. Andrussier before enrolling.

This is a year-long clinic, and enrollment is limited to third-year students (i.e., students enrolling in this clinic must have completed fourth semesters of law school). Because of the time necessary to handle an appeal through briefing and argument, this is a year-long clinic offering 3 credits in the fall and 2 credits in the spring, and each student must enroll in both semesters.

For a practitioner, the appellate process focuses largely on researching and writing; thus most of the work in this clinic will entail researching and writing. Work will include reviewing the trial court record to identify appealable issues, conducting sophisticated legal research, drafting research memos, drafting appellate briefs, participating in tactical decision making, preparing the excerpts of record for the court of appeals, and preparing for oral argument if argument is scheduled. If oral argument is calendared during the academic year, a student may also argue the appeal, with client and court permission (only one student on a team can argue any appeal). In addition, the clinic director will meet with the students in a seminar setting early in the year to discuss appellate advocacy and the law necessary to handle the appellate work.

It is helpful (though not required) to have previously taken appellate practice. Students should not enroll in both courses simultaneously. It is recommended that students enrolling in this course have completed or have contemporaneously enrolled in the federal courts course.

Important:

As with other clinics, this course may not be dropped after the first class meeting.

Clinic students represent real clients, enter appearances in court, and operate under court-imposed deadlines. Consequently, if scheduling conflicts arise, work on a clinic case must take priority over extracurricular activities (such as moot court).

Because of tight court-imposed deadlines and the demands of appellate practice, this course requires students to be exceedingly flexible with their schedules and to dedicate significant amounts of time in the briefing process and in preparing for oral argument. The briefing schedule overlaps with fall break, and for reply briefs the schedule has often overlapped with a portion of winter break. Oral argument preparation has often overlapped with spring break, and indeed a court may calendar oral argument during or within days after spring break. Hence the need for flexibility.

Like students in all other Duke clinics that meet in the fall, appellate clinic students must attend the all-day clinic intensive held on a Friday in early September.

Students in this course participate in a legal clinic focused on the representation of low income children and their parents. While the majority of cases will focus on school-related matters, students may also participate in cases involving other issues relating to the health and well-being of children, such as government benefits and limited family law. Students will have an individual case load and will be closely supervised by clinic faculty. Various case assignments can involve client interviewing and counseling, negotiation, informal advocacy, and litigation in administrative hearings or court. Students must attend a two-hour seminar once per week, with associated preparation. Students work on clinic cases approximately 10-12 hours a week, for a minimum of 125 hours of legal work during the semester for 5 credits and 100 hours for 4 credits. There is no paper and no exam. Students must be in at least their fourth semester of law school to enroll in the clinic due to state student practice rules. Education Law is recommended, but not required. Students must meet the legal ethics graduation requirement either before or during enrollment in the Children's Law Clinic. (see Clinics Enrollment Policy).

Important:

This course may not be dropped after the first class meeting.

*Variable Credit: 4-5 credits upon student selection*

Students MUST be able to attend the day-long clinic intensive training session to enroll in this course.

International LLM students who wish to enroll in a clinic must seek the permission of the clinic's faculty director prior to the enrollment period. Permission is required to enroll but permission does not constitute entry into the clinic.

Ethics Requirement

Students are required to have instruction in the Model Rules of Professional Conduct prior to, or during, enrollment in the Children's Law Clinic. The following ethics classes meet the requirement: Ethics of Social Justice Lawyering (LAW 237), Ethics and the Law of Lawyering (LAW 238), Ethics and the Law of Lawyering in Civil Litigation (LAW 239), Criminal Justice Ethics (LAW 317) and Ethics in Action (LAW 539).

This three-credit course is available to students who have participated in one semester in the Children's Law Clinic, and wish to participate for a second semester. Students may enroll only with approval of the Director of the Clinic. Placements may be available in the event that the clinic is not fully enrolled with first-time participants, and in exceptional situations, when the clinic director determines it would be in the best interest of the clinic to make an exception to the usual maximum enrollment. Students enrolled in Advanced Clinical Studies are required to participate fully in the case work portion of the clinic, performing a minimum of 125 hours of client representation work, but will not be required to attend the class sessions.

This is the basic trial skills course covering Opening Statement, Direct Examination, Cross Examination, Impeachment, Exhibits, Expert Witnesses and Closing Argument. In sections of 12 students per section, students prepare and perform the various skills using simulated problems and case files. After each performance, students receive constructive comments from faculty members who are also experienced trial lawyers. Students also get videotapes of their performances. The course ends with a full jury trial of a civil or criminal case with teams of two students on each side. At the end of the trial, the jury deliberates and students are able to watch the jury as it deliberates.

In the Fall, the class, which focuses on criminal trials, lasts the full semester. Three sections focusing on civil trials and one section focusing on criminal trials Law 422 are offered in the Spring.

This course focuses on the path litigators must navigate prior to trial. It is becoming increasingly rare for cases to be decided by a jury; lawyers must learn to win in the pretrial process. We will explore the key components of the pretrial process, beginning with the filing of a law suit. This course provides an opportunity for students to synthesize their knowledge in procedure, evidence and advocacy. Topics include:

Drafting pleadings

Taking and defending depositions

Creating and responding to discovery

Planning strategy and motions

The course grade is based on classroom participation, performance and written work. There is not a final exam.

This clinic will develop and hone civil litigation skills in the context of working on actual cases taken in directly by the CJC or working in association with the Durham and Raleigh offices of Legal Aid of North Carolina and with the North Carolina Office of Administrative Hearings. Cases will focus on vindicating the rights of impoverished individuals or groups who cannot otherwise adequately find justice in the civil courts. Students will be directly supervised by the Clinic Director and/or Supervising Attorney and/or Legal Aid attorneys. Cases may include prosecuting sub-code housing claims, defense of eviction claims, prosecuting unfair trade practice claims, administrative hearing appeals for the revocation of licenses/certifications, and a variety of other matters. Initial classroom training in the various stages of civil litigation will be conducted by the Clinic Director and Supervising Attorney, followed by weekly individual or group training sessions. Skill development will include interviewing clients/witnesses, review of relevant documents/discovery, assessment of cases, drafting of pleadings, drafting of discovery, taking of depositions, recognition of ethics issues, and actual court or agency appearances. All enrolled students will be required to provide a minimum of 100 hours of client legal work per semester as well as to participate in the weekly class and training sessions. Students must be in at least their fourth semester of law school to enroll in the clinic. Courses in Evidence and/or Trial Practice are recommended but not required as prerequisites or corequisites.

Important:

This course may not be dropped after the first class meeting.

Students must be able to attend the day-long clinic intensive training session to enroll in this course.

International LLM students who wish to enroll in the clinic must seek the permission of the Clinic Director prior to the enrollment period.

An Advanced Civil Justice Clinic can be available for a second semester, with the permission of the Clinic Director.

Ethics Requirement

Students are required to have instruction in the Model Rules of Professional Conduct prior to, or during, enrollment in the Civil Justice Clinic. The following ethics classes meet the requirement: Ethics of Social Justice Lawyering (LAW 237), Ethics and the Law of Lawyering (LAW 238), Ethics and the Law of Lawyering in Civil Litigation (LAW 239), Criminal Justice Ethics (LAW 317) and Ethics in Action (LAW 539).

This clinic will develop counseling, litigation, and legal commentary skills in the context of working on actual cases and issues involving the First Amendment freedoms of speech, press, assembly and petition. We will advise and represent individuals and groups with First Amendment concerns or claims who cannot afford the assistance of lawyers with specialized First Amendment expertise. We will also provide commentary and legal analysis on pending or enacted legislation that implicates First Amendment freedoms, and other governmental as well as academic developments. Students will be directly supervised by the Clinic Director and the First Amendment Fellow. All enrolled students will be required to work a minimum of 100 hours a semester with clients or in other professional activities such as answering questions from journalists or analyzing and preparing commentary on pending legislation, as well as to participate in the weekly class and training sessions. Students must be in at least their fourth semester of law school to enroll in the clinic. Either First Amendment or Defamation and Privacy is a prerequisite or corequisite.

Important:

This course may not be dropped after the first class meeting.

Students must be able to attend the day-long clinic intensive training session to enroll in this course.

The International Human Rights Clinic provides students with an opportunity to critically engage with human rights issues, strategies, tactics, institutions, and law in both domestic and international settings. Through the weekly seminar and fieldwork, students will develop practical tools for human rights advocacy—such as fact-finding, litigation, indicators, reporting, and messaging—that integrate inter-disciplinary methods and maximize the use of new technologies. Students will also develop core competencies related to managing trauma in human rights work, as well as the ethical and accountability challenges in human rights lawyering. Types of clinic projects include those that: apply a human rights framework to domestic issues; involve human rights advocacy abroad; engage with international institutions to advance human rights; and/or address human rights in U.S. foreign policy. Students work closely with local organizations, international NGOs, and U.N. human rights experts and bodies. Some travel will likely be involved. Student project teams will also meet at least once a week with the clinic instructors. Students work on clinic projects approximately 10-12 hours a week, for a minimum of 125 hours of clinical work during the semester. This course may not be dropped after the first class meeting.

Under the supervision of the clinical faculty, students will work on current case and policy advocacy priorities as determined by the Clinic's Intake Board. Cases and issues undertaken by the Clinic may include the following subject areas: water quality, air quality, natural resources conservation, endangered species, agriculture, sustainable development, public trust resources and environmental justice. Practical skills training will emphasize skills needed to counsel clients, examine witnesses and to advocate effectively in rulemaking and litigation settings. Generally, students may only enroll in the clinic for 1 semester, but may enroll for 2 semesters with the permission of the instructor if space permits. All enrolled students will be required to provide a minimum of 100 hours of work per semester to the clinic. In addition, students must participate in weekly group training meetings as well. The clinic office is located in the law school building. Law students must be in at least their fourth semester of law school to enroll in the clinic. Nicholas School students must be in at least their second semester.

Students MUST be able to attend the day-long clinic intensive training session to enroll in this course.

International LLM students who wish to enroll in a clinic must seek the permission of the clinic's faculty director prior to the enrollment period. Permission is required to enroll but permission does not constitute entry into the clinic.

Ethics Requirement

Students are required to have instruction in the Model Rules of Professional Conduct prior to, or during, enrollment in the Environmental Law and Policy Clinic. The following ethics classes meet the requirement: Ethics of Social Justice Lawyering (LAW 237), Ethics and the Law of Lawyering (LAW 238), Ethics and the Law of Lawyering in Civil Litigation (LAW 239), Criminal Justice Ethics (LAW 317) and Ethics in Action (LAW 539).

This variable-credit course is available to students who have participated in one semester in the Environmental Law and Policy Clinic, and wish to participate for a second semester. Students may enroll only with approval of the Director of the Clinic. Placements may be available in the event that the clinic is not fully enrolled with first-time participants, and in exceptional situations, when the clinic director determines it would be in the best interest of the clinic to make an exception to the usual maximum enrollment. Students enrolled in Advanced Clinical Studies are required to participate fully in the case work portion of the clinic, performing at least 100 hours of client representation work (or more, depending on credit hours), but will not be required to attend the class sessions.

Students in the Guantánamo Defense Clinic will assist in the defense of Khalid Shaikh Mohammad, the named defendant in the "9/11 case" before the military commissions at Guantanamo Bay. Clinic students will work with clinic professors and defense counsel to analyze legal issues posed by the case, construct case theories and strategies, and prepare court filings and arguments.

"Standdown"—a two-day intensive training seminar—will be held over a weekend at the beginning of the semester. Students should check the Academic Calendar to confirm the Standdown dates.

The class will meet, thereafter, during its weekly class period (Thursdays, 10:30am-12:20pm), with additional team meetings scheduled as required.

The course requires a minimum of 100 hours of work, apart from the scheduled training seminar and class meetings.

This seminar is intended to explore the processes of negotiation and settlement in legal and other contexts. Negotiation can be defined as the process by which two or more parties attempt to reach a mutually agreed upon decision regarding the social ordering of relationships or the resolution of a dispute. Thus, for example, agreement on a contract between two or more parties entails negotiation. Most civil and criminal litigation is settled by negotiation rather than decided at trial. Today, in many states, mandatory mediation–negotiation facilitated by a neutral party–is required before a case can be scheduled for trial. Other forms of alternative dispute resolution such as arbitration or summary jury trials are usually preceded by negotiation. The seminar will focus on the nature of interpersonal and intergroup conflict and strategies and tactics of negotiation. It will also focus on the unique aspects of an attorney representing a client in negotiation, including the ethical duties of a lawyer in this context. Goals of the seminar are to provide students with the opportunity to analyze the social process of conflict resolution in different legal contexts (including transactional, litigation, and international), to gain insight into their own negotiation styles, and to improve their negotiation skills. One email negotiation is included, and one class will introduce mediation advocacy techniques to help prepare students to negotiate when a mediator is involved in dispute resolution.

The seminar makes use of role-play simulation materials and assigned readings. The seminar requires consistent and active class participation, weekly journals or guided questionnaires, and a final paper. Because of the nature of the course, the amount of information delivered during the first class period, the importance of participating in the first role-play simulation during the first class period, and the historically long waitlists for enrollment in the course, attendance at the first class is absolutely required. A student who fails to attend the first class without prior consent of the instructor will forfeit his or her place in the class. (Working for an additional week in the summer will not be an acceptable excuse for missing the first week of class. Neither will a call-back interview.) Students who are on the waitlist for the course are encouraged to attend the first class, and those who do will be given preference to fill open slots in the class. There is a shortened drop period for this course so that students who are waitlisted can enter the class before the second class occurs. Thus, students may drop this course without permission only before the second class meeting.

Because of the similarities between this course and the negotiation course taught at the Fuqua School of Business, a law student may not receive law school credit for both courses.

This course provides an introduction to the relationship between law and poverty, including the relevance of legal doctrine, policy and practice to the significant inequality in income, assets and basic social goods impacting tens of millions of people in the United States.

We will begin by considering historical and contemporary trends in domestic poverty, U.S. social welfare policy, the legal framework under which poverty-related claims have been adjudicated, and the role of lawyers in combatting poverty.

Grounded in poverty data, policy arguments, legal doctrine and practice, we will explore modern government anti-poverty programs and issues such as welfare, work, housing, health, education and criminalization.

We will conclude by considering non-governmental approaches to combating poverty, including market-based solutions and international human rights, with an emphasis on the role of law, lawyers and legal institutions in such efforts.

Drawing on the rich expertise of those in Durham and beyond, we will occasionally be joined by guest speakers. The primary textbook for the course is Poverty Law, Policy and Practice (Aspen/Wolters Kluwer, 2014).

SciReg Lab teaches students about the use of emerging science and technology in the regulatory agencies and courts through the drafting and submission of comments to federal rule-makings and amicus briefs. The briefs and comments will be unaligned with any party and are intended to provide the regulatory agencies and courts with unbiased, current, accurate and coherent information about the science underlying the proposed rule or pending case. The course is cross-listed in the Law School and Graduate School and the students will be drawn from the sciences, ethics, policy and law to work in interdisciplinary teams. The course will begin with a brief overview of notice-and-comment rulemaking, appellate court practice and the role of amicus briefs, and how to translate scientific information into the language of courts and agencies. The ethical issues presented by this process will be an important component of the course content. With the assistance of faculty, the students will track pending rulemakings and court cases and select a proceeding or case in which to file a comment or brief. A background in science is recommended, but not required.

The Wrongful Convictions Clinic investigates North Carolina prisoners' claims of actual innocence and wrongful conviction. Students typically work in teams of two on one inmate's case. Among other things, the teams meet with the client (in prison), read and digest trial transcripts, interview witnesses, consult with experts, prepare investigative and legal strategies, and, if the case is ready, prepare the comprehensive Motion for Appropriate Relief to have the client's conviction overturned. The seminar component of the Clinic examines the principal problems that lead to the conviction of the innocent and the leading proposals for reform, including mistaken eyewitness identification, false confessions, faulty forensic evidence, the role of forensic DNA testing, post-conviction remedies for innocence claims, the use of "jailhouse snitches" and other cooperating witnesses, incompetent defense counsel, and police and prosecutorial misconduct. The seminar also includes skills-training sessions, during which students gain training in negotiation, interviewing, writing, and more. During the semester, students are required to perform a minimum of 100 hours of client work (in addition to weekly seminar preparation and attendance). Students must also attend the Clinic Intensive Training Day scheduled early in the semester, which is conducted collectively with the other Duke Law Clinics.

This course will examine the substantive law of arbitration during the first half of the term using the textbook Arbitration: Cases and Materials by Huber & Weston (3rd Edition, 2011, LexisNexis) and focus thereafter on the development of practical skills for conducting an arbitration presentation. The class will be limited to a maximum of 18 students. Grading will be based upon class participation, the submission of a written arbitration brief, and the oral presentation of arbitration arguments/evidence.

It is anticipated that students will be offered a choice among three or four arbitration problems from which they will pick one problem for briefing and oral presentation. Some problems are susceptible to being handled by teams for plaintiff and defense, while others can be handled individually. The problems may deal with such diverse claims as construction, medical malpractice, and employment discrimination, among others. At least one problem available for selection will address international commercial arbitration issues, taken from the current problem being used for the Willem Vis Arbitration Moot, which is an international law school competition

This course analyzes civil suits in U.S. federal courts that raise cross-border, international and foreign legal issues. Specific topics covered include transnational jurisdiction, international forum selection, transborder choice of law, extraterritorial application of U.S. law, federal rules for service of process and discovery of evidence abroad, the special treatment of foreign governments as parties, and recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments.

Forensic evidence, from DNA to fingerprints to ballistics, has never been more important in criminal cases. However, litigating scientific evidence in the courtroom is not like it appears on TV shows like CSI—it is challenging and requires some specialized skills. We are excited to offer a new short course to provide those skills—by the end of the course you will be able to handle sophisticated scientific evidence in the courtroom. While the focus is on forensics used in criminal cases, many of the same principles and skills apply when litigating scientific evidence in any type of case. The course will be a practicum: a scientific evidence trial advocacy course. We will begin with introductory lectures both on forensics and how to prepare for trial, so that students will be fully ready for their parts in a final eight-hour day of simulations. During the simulations, the “prosecutors” will first interview their forensic experts (one of your instructors), and talk to them about their case file documents, which are taken from real cases. The class will break into groups to brainstorm potential motions to exclude expert testimony or limit language and discuss collectively as a class, both sides will conduct mock trials with direct and cross-examination of forensic experts before a judge, and finally, we will conduct closings. We will stop in between each session to exchange feedback and talk about what worked and what did not. Each student will have a chance to present in these simulations. The course will also be to open to a select group of experienced practicing criminal lawyers who will collaborate with students throughout the simulations. Students will be graded on a memo written reflecting on their portion of the trial; their draft questions finalizing their planned questions; and on their participation and oral advocacy in the simulations. While having taken evidence or trial advocacy is helpful, it is not a prerequisite.

Critical race theory (CRT), a scholarly movement that began in the 1980s, challenges both the substance and style of conventional legal scholarship. Substantively, critical race scholars (“race crits”) reject formal equality, individual rights, and color-blind approaches to solving legal problems. Stylistically, race crits often employ new methodologies for legal scholarship, including storytelling and narrative. This course introduces CRT’s core principles and explores its possibilities and limitations. With a heavy focus on writings that shaped the movement, the course will examine the following concepts and theories: storytelling, interest convergence theory, the social construction of race, the black-white paradigm, the myth of the model minority, intersectionality, essentialism, working identity, covering, whiteness and white privilege, colorblindness, microaggressions, and implicit bias. Students will apply these theories and frameworks to cases and topics dealing with, among other things, first amendment freedoms, affirmative action, employment discrimination, and criminal disparities and inequities. The course affords students an opportunity to think about the ways in which racism, sexism, classism, and heterosexism are inextricably interwoven as well as an opportunity to challenge critically our most basic assumptions about race, law, and justice.

This course will provide students a framework for effective client interviewing and counseling, skills which are foundational to successful lawyering. While lawyers must master substantive and procedural law to gain the confidence of their clients, they must be able to exercise effective communication skills in “real time.” Legal Interviewing and Counseling will help students learn to plan effective interviewing and counseling sessions, to identify and solve problems collaboratively with clients, and to further develop their abilities to effectively communicate difficult legal and factual information. This course seeks to further understanding of a broad range of communication skills, to facilitate client decision making and implementation of solutions, to manage the professional relationship, and to navigate common ethical issues that arise in the context of legal interviewing and counseling. Structured in-class simulation exercises will allow students to develop and practice these skills in real-world contexts . While each of these skills will be developed over the entirety of any lawyer's career, Legal Interviewing & Counseling aims to help students to jumpstart this development and to gain additional tools needed to ensure effective client relationships when they enter practice. Students will be evaluated on their participation in structured, in-class simulation exercises and discussions; video-taped skills exercises done outsides of class; guided self-assessments; guided reviews of other students' simulation exercises; and a final capstone simulation interview and counseling projects. Students will be required to attend class regularly and to participate consistently in all exercises. Students will be assessed on a C/NC basis.

This 2-credit seminar considers the application of law to medicine and the tensions that arise as a result, both in practice and as these tensions implicate differences between medical ethics and legal norms. The topics covered will include the history and modern status of medical ethics rules and the institutions that govern and operationalize them; medical privacy in the HIPAA context; clinical research and the consent process; the (medical malpractice) standard of care and medical errors; scarce resources including medicines and organs; infectious disease (e.g., Ebola) protocols; living wills and medical powers of attorney; the concept of medical "futility"; and choosing and defining death.

Grades will be based on class preparedness and participation including one-page reflection papers due before most class sessions, and a final research paper. In total, students will turn in ten reflection papers, i.e., one for each of ten of the thirteen class sessions. Final papers for those not taking the class for writing credit must be 20-25 pages in length. Final papers for those taking the class for writing credit must be between 25 and 30 pages in length and must otherwise comply with the requirements for obtaining such credit.

It is recommended that students take this course in conjunction with Law 524, Health and Medical Research for Lawyers, a one-credit advanced research seminar which emphasizes the topics covered in this course, i.e., in Law 512.

Credits earned in this seminar, grounded in simulating participation in certain aspects of a murder trial, apply to the experiential learning requirement for graduation. The course's backbone will be real first-degree murder cases that resulted in conviction and the death penalty. Simulations in the form of class exercises and writing assignments will be based upon those high-stake cases' actual evidence, defense and prosecuting attorneys' decisions and actions, and the controlling constitutional and evidentiary law. The simulations will include but not be limited to attorneys' brainstorming to make tactical decisions, composing jury selection questions to pick a "fair" but "death-qualified" jury, and writing and presenting opening statements and closing arguments. In the simulated activities, students will learn to practice the art of persuasive, zealous advocacy in the face of challenges to professionalism, ethical dilemmas, and complex tactical choices. Lessons about advocacy, though learned in the context of death penalty cases' memorable circumstances, apply equally to students' future practice in transactional or civil litigation practice.

Federal constitutional law is deeply shaped by its history. Many of our hot-button issues emerged in the early Republic: the specific questions are often different but the basic disagreements and arguments are startlingly modern. The modern “canon” of US Supreme Court cases through which constitutional law is taught is an abstraction from this history. Even if this is mostly unavoidable, the result is that in important ways our understanding of constitutional history, and thus of contemporary constitutional law as well, is distorted. In this course we will look at a series of contemporary issues - such as freedom of speech and religion, unenumerated rights, and federalism, through the lens provided by cases and controversies in the first century of the Constitution’s existence that for the most part have dropped out of our field of vision. Our goal is not simply to develop a deeper understanding of the constitutional past but just as importantly to acquire fresh perspectives on contemporary law.

This seminar course examines the social, moral, and legal implications of capital punishment, with a particular focus on decisions of the Supreme Court since the early 1970s. Main themes of the course will include: jury selection; the allocation of decisionmaking authority between judges and juries; the right to counsel in death cases; the role of aggravating and mitigating factors; efforts to limit the arbitrary or racially discriminatory application of the death penalty; the rules governing juveniles and the mentally ill; the federal death penalty; the influence and relevance of foreign practice; and constitutional challenges to methods of execution.

Recent developments have brought to the fore a collection of legal issues, some novel and others dormant for many years, relating to the interaction of the criminal investigative process with the White House and the presidency. The seminar will discuss the legal boundaries around the criminal justice process’s interaction with the White House, while exploring larger themes about the office of the presidency and the constitutional structure of the national government. The course will be structured around six relatively stand-alone topics: (1) Independent and special counsels and their interaction with congressional investigations; (2) The grand jury, immunity, the Fifth Amendment privilege, and perjury/obstruction of justice, as they relate to White House investigations; (3) Representing the president: attorney-client privilege, the White House counsel, and the private defense bar; (4) Executive privilege and potential executive immunity from indictment, trial, conviction and/or sentence; (5) The pardon power; and (6) The law of impeachment.
Students will be expected to lead one class meeting discussion during the semester, and a total of 15 pages of writing will be required. Students may elect to write four response papers of approximately four pages each, or one longer paper at the end of the semester of at least 15 pages. Students will receive feedback on both written expression and class participation. Students who plan significant research projects on related topics may register for a second credit, and this research project may be used to satisfy the upper-level writing requirement.

The class will function as an ethics committee considering current issues and ethics inquiries based upon actual disputes. The participants, working in small groups, will draft detailed ethics opinions that the full class will consider, revise, and the like.

Urban Legal History is a research seminar which will focus on the legal issues relating to Durham's political, social, and economic development. The class will involve intensive study of primary and secondary materials, and will require students to produce substantial (45 page) research papers.

This is a two-credit research tutorial with a heavy emphasis on collaboration. The course is designed to introduce students to the North Carolina Civil Justice System, teach them to identify inefficiencies and inequalities within that system, and generate proposals for reform. Although general areas of focus will be set by the Civil Justice Section of the Commission, the specific research objectives, investigatory tools, data compilation, and presentations will be performed by the students. In collaboration with Dean Levi and Professor Miller, students will set fact-finding priorities, conduct research on civil justice topics in North Carolina, evaluate programs in comparator jurisdictions, draft reports, and prepare presentations for classroom use and for the Civil Justice Section members. The goal is for the students to produce a substantial, detailed, documented set of written proposals that will be included in the final report of the Commission in early 2017 and will shape the civil justice system in North Carolina going forward. We plan to have class sessions approximately every other week. During these class sessions, tutorial participants will coordinate research and drafting tasks and give reports of their findings. It is expected that during the days we do not have class, the students will be conducting research.

There are three major objectives for this course: (1) to provide you with a substantive understanding of empirical methods and an opportunity to learn the principals of these methods with hands-on experience with easy-to-use statistical software (e.g., Excel and Stata); (2) to develop skills to choose and work with experts, and the ability to develop and refute quantitative evidence; and (3) to develop the necessary skills for critical thinking and evaluation of empirical work in academic studies and expert witness reports.

The course will be divided into three major components. The first section of the course will introduce a broad range of topics in methodology, from study design and hypothesis testing to descriptive statistics and multivariate regression techniques in the context of legal issues faced by practicing attorneys. The second section will include a series of lectures by judges and empirical scholars with a wealth of experience working with and as expert witnesses. The final section of the course will utilize this new knowledge and training to critically evaluate empirical scholarship and expert reports. Together, these course components will provide you with a comprehensive background in empirical methods and will prepare you for sophisticated and critical consumption of statistical analyses. The course also will equip those of you who are interested in pursuing academia with a foundation in quantitative research to produce empirical scholarship.

Participation during class is strongly encouraged, and computers are allowed in the classroom. Course grades will be based on class participation (10%), hands-on exercises (10%), and a discussion paper (80%). For the paper, you will be asked to evaluate an Expert Report and discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the study based on the research methods covered in this course. You have the option to take an in-class exam as a substitute for the paper.

The Supreme Court's decisions in District of Columbia v. Heller and McDonald v. City of Chicago have ushered in a whole new era of Second Amendment theory, litigation, and politics. Current events keep issues of firearms, gun violence, gun safety, and self-defense constantly in the news. This seminar will explore the Second Amendment and the various state constitutional analogs historically, theoretically, and pragmatically. Students will be introduced to the historical and public policy materials surrounding the Second Amendment, the regulatory environment concerning firearms, and the political and legal issues pertaining to firearm rights-enforcement and policy design. Evaluation for the seminar will be based on eight short reaction papers and in-class participation.

This new seminar will focus on the process of imposing sentences in criminal cases, administering punishment, and attempting rehabilitation of convicted criminals. The course will first provide background regarding the purposes of punishment and the history of mandatory sentences, presumptive sentences, and sentencing guidelines, and focus on some of these issues in more detail through the use of a expert guest lecturers and a tour of the Federal Correctional Facility in Butner, NC. Students will be expected to participate meaningfully in the lectures, guest speakers and field trip, and produce a research paper on a related topic.

This iteration of the Law, Economics and Politics seminar will focus primarily on the economics, law and politics of contracting (broadly defined). Every week, the class will discuss a different research paper on the topic. Most weeks, one of the authors of those papers will join us for the discussion. Active participation in the discussions and engagement with the substance of the papers is a requirement (there will also be weekly writing requirements). Some of the guests who are scheduled to visit in the Fall 2018 semester include John Coyle (UNC), Anusha Chari (UNC), Glen Weyl (Yale), Benjamin Edelman (Harvard), and Alon Brav (Duke). The instructors for this seminar are Mitu Gulati (Duke Law) and Tracy Lewis (Duke Econ/Business).

Every week, students will be asked to do reaction papers to presentations by guest speakers. These guests are a set of scholars who are doing some of the most current research on the above-mentioned topics.

The requirements for the class are completion of the reaction papers and active participation in the debates over the papers being presented. There will not be a final exam or final paper.

This seminar examines areas in which religion and law intersect in family life. Students will explore the guidelines and doctrine governing religious and legal professionals when counseling individuals on family issues. Seminar discussions will focus on interdisciplinary readings, as well as exercises in skills relating to listening, counseling, mediation, and collaboration. Grading will be based on 4-6 written assignments totaling 25-30 pages relating to class exercises or readings, and on participation in class discussion and exercises. There is no exam. The seminar fulfills the J.D. Professional Skills requirement.

This two-credit experiential course will focus on the analytical, writing and presentation, and interview skills frequently used in practice while also introducing students to the general statutory and regulatory frameworks governing securities litigation and enforcement. Litigating private securities claims and defending SEC enforcement actions are an important component of most sophisticated litigation practice; these actions have high stakes, and are almost inevitable for many corporate clients. Writing assignments and presentations will be drawn from one hypothetical class action problem, and one hypothetical enforcement action problem.

This seminar will invite participants to take an in-depth look at the combination of issues raised by complex mass tort lawsuits: issues of substantive tort law, civil procedure, litigation strategy, lawyer-client relationships, the economics of settlement, ethics, the judicial role, and societal impacts.

The course will explore a selection of celebrated mass tort lawsuits, such as those involving the Buffalo Creek disaster, the Woburn leukemia case, Agent Orange, the Exxon Valdez oil spill, the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the concussion/brain injury cases against the NFL and other sports, cigarette smoking, the Dalkon Shield, Bendectin, MTBE, and asbestos.

The course will employ a "case method" -- not the typical study of appellate decisions on particular issues but a "full" case method that examines entire cases, from dispute to filing to trial to appeals and beyond. The readings are mainly books about the cases-- historical accounts that put the litigation in context. These books include Gerald Stern, The Buffalo Creek Disaster; Jonathan Harr, A Civil Action; Peter Schuck, Agent Orange on Trial; David Lebedoff, Cleaning Up; Ken Feinberg, Who Gets What; and Mark Fainaru-Wada and Steve Fainaru, League of Denial. Judicial opinions and scholarly commentary will be assigned as supplementary readings. Readings will therefore be more extensive but less dense than typical law school courses.

Note: Students may enroll in an additional credit in order to expand the required 15 page paper into 30 pages with the aim of using the paper to satisfy the JD Writing Requirement. Students wishing to take this option should enroll in Law 579W Mass Torts Writing Credit. *LAW 579W MUST be added no later than 7th week of class.*

While enrolled in Law 579 Mass Torts, students have the option to take an additional 1 credit if they wish to expand the required 15 page paper to 30 pages in order to satisfy the JD Writing Requirement. *LAW 579W MUST be added no later than 7th week of class.*

This fall-only course is designed to provide students, particularly those with no background in the topic, with an overview of the American legal architecture for its security enterprise. The class will also examine related issues that arise "in the news." It is aimed not only at students considering a career in government or the military, but also for those headed to private practice who appreciate that the U.S.’s $719 billion defense budget, along with $1.7 trillion in defense outlays worldwide impacts virtually all potential clients.

The course analyzes the Constitutional structure governing national security matters, and the role played by the three branches of government (with special emphasis on Presidential power). It will also examine governmental surveillance, the investigation and prosecution of national security cases, as well as First Amendment issues related to national security. In addition, domestic security issues (to include the domestic use of the armed forces), security-based travel restrictions, the role of the Centers for Disease Control, the military justice system, civil-military relations, and the impact of national security issues on business transactions will be reviewed.

There is no examination for this course, but a 30-page research paper (constituting 65% of the grade) is required on a topic chosen by the student and approved by the instructor. With instructor approval, the course paper may fulfill the Substantial Research and Writing Project or other writing requirements. The remainder of the grade (35%) is based on the quality and frequency of class participation, and may require short, written products.

Are we a post-racial society? Is English-only the way to go? Is there a model minority? Are Native American children better off with Native American parents? Should affirmative action be abolished? Are all women white and all blacks men? Was Brown right? This seminar will explore the historical and contemporary treatment of race in the United States by both the courts and the legislature. The seminar will employ an interdisciplinary approach to examining the social and political forces that have and continue to contribute to the development of legal doctrine in the areas of education, employment, health care, interracial sex and marriage, and public accommodations, among other things. Throughout, the seminar will explore the definition of race, the intersection of race and gender, the interplay of race and class, the juxtaposition of various racial groups, and the utility of a biracial dichotomy in a multiracial and multiethnic society. Materials will include cases, films, law review articles, excerpts from books, and other nonlegal materials. The seminar will examine race from a multiracial, multiethnic perspective. Participation from a diverse group of students is encouraged. A paper will be required.

Issues in the legal regulation of sexuality are among the most contested in US law today. Determining a) whether gays and lesbians are entitled to the same marriage rights as heterosexual couples, b) whether the gender identities of transgender persons are to be accepted in public facilities like restrooms, c) if and when women should have access to contraception or abortion, and d) whether LGBTQ persons can rely on constitutional and statutory provisions providing for equal protection or nondiscrimination when availing of government provided services or commercial services, are all questions which either have been litigated in US courts in recent years, or are currently being litigated. Assessing the merits of the arguments of parties involved in litigating these issues requires delving into the disparate areas of law which converge in these cases. These areas of law include the jurisprudences of liberty, privacy, equal protection and the free exercise of religion, as well as issues concerning the extent of executive authority. This course will explore these issues through an examination of recent US jurisprudence, as well as statutory law and regulatory actions, as they pertain to LGBTQ rights and women’s reproductive rights at both the state and national level. While the primary focus will be on developments in the US, the treatment of similar issues in selected foreign jurisdictions will be introduced occasionally to present alternative approaches.

This seminar examines the relationships between pregnancy discrimination and sex discrimination, and between sex discrimination and restrictions on access to contraception and abortion.

Through reading a combination of Supreme Court merits briefs, law review articles, and book excerpts, students will study how Ruth Bader Ginsburg and other advocates for women’s rights during the early 1970s viewed discrimination against pregnant women as a paradigmatic form of unconstitutional sex discrimination, and also viewed restrictions on access to contraception and abortion as implicating constitutional equality values in addition to liberty concerns.

This course is open to students participating in the Duke in DC integrated externship program (LAW 679: Duke Law in DC Externship). The Federal Policymaking course is a graded, 4-credit, weekly class that focuses on the federal policymaking process, with particular attention to the policy issues that are currently being debated in Congress and the executive branch. The course requires students to become conversant with current federal policy debates, and also with the forces that influence the behavior of institutional actors who ultimately decide whether and how these debates will be acted upon by the branches of the federal government. Students will develop critical analysis skills that are necessary to evaluate and affect the policymaking process at the federal level. This course is open to second-and third-year law students, by permission only. For more information, please visit https://law.duke.edu/curriculum/dukedc/.

Research Tutorials give students an opportunity to engage with the production of legal scholarship in a substantive and sustained way. This Tutorial will explore the history of gun rights and regulation in the United States, analyze the Supreme Court’s decision in District of Columbia v. Heller, and suggest doctrinal and theoretical tools with which to implement the new “individual” right to keep and bear arms. Students will be asked to review and evaluate chapters of a forthcoming manuscript, participate in weekly discussions, and produce research memos in response to class discussions. Students should expect to generate roughly 20 pages of written work product throughout the semester.

Enrollment in the Second Amendment Research Tutorial is limited to 8 students and there is a selection process for students to be enrolled in the course. Interested students must apply with a statement of interest as follows:

In no more than a page, please explain why you would like to participate in this Research Tutorial, and what you hope to contribute. Factors could include curiosity or strong views about the Second Amendment, interest in legal scholarship, commitment to research and writing, or other interests and qualifications.

Statements of interest must be submitted to Marlyn Dail by the close of business on Tuesday, November 8. The Registrar's Office will manually enroll the selected students in this course during the drop/add period.

This course will cover the basic aspects of patent infringement litigation, beginning with the pre-suit investigation and covering basic phases of the process through trial, including the initial pleadings, discovery, the Markman claim construction phase, pretrial and trial. The main focus will be on the practical aspects of this growing form of commercial litigation. Students would need to have completed, or be concurrently enrolled in, Patent Law to enroll in this course. Students will be assessed on the basis of two writing assignments, a Markman/claim construction brief and a summary judgment motion, and on an oral argument on their brief.

This course surveys the most common types of alternative dispute resolution processes: negotiation, mediation, arbitration, and court-annexed and governmental-agency ADR -all of which have gained wide-spread use as alternatives to traditional litigation. The survey encompasses three perspectives; the advocate's perspective in choosing the most appropriate ADR process in light of the different advantages and disadvantages of the various processes; the third-party neutral's perspective in facilitating or fashioning a just resolution of the parties' dispute; and the policy maker's perspective in utilizing ADR as a more efficient and cost effective substitute for traditional adjudication.

The objective of the course is to introduce students to important issues concerning the theory and doctrine of statutory interpretation through exposure to cutting-edge legal scholarship. The colloquium will feature bi-weekly presentations of works-in-progress by leading scholars of statutory interpretation, legislation, and administrative law. In the week preceding each presentation, students will read and discuss foundational materials (a mix of academic commentary and case law) on topics related to the work-in-progress.

Students may opt to prepare six short (5-10 page) papers in response to each work-in-progress, which would be due in advance of the presentation and used to stimulate discussion. Alternatively, students may write one longer research paper (roughly 30 pages) dealing with a topic of their choice related to the themes of the class. Students who take the latter option may use the colloquium to satisfy the upper-level writing requirement.

The acquisition, management, analysis, dissemination, and security of personal information are increasing important issues for individuals, commercial enterprises and governments. New technologies create a more connected and personal digital society. Every day, transactions engaged in by individuals generate ever expanding amounts of personal information, including credit card transaction information, purchasing histories, bank and other financial transaction information, location information, health information, real property ownership information, information relating to interactions with the criminal justice system, information shared on social media and other types of information. Not only is the volume of personal information escalating rapidly; much of it resides on servers and storage media where it can be accessible or potentially accessible to commercial enterprises and government agencies. In both the commercial sector and the government sector, the legal and policy issues associated with personal information are growing in importance. Discussion of these issues in either sector cannot ignore the other, because the issues frequently intersect. They also transcend national boundaries. For example, in President Obama's proposals to revise government policy towards signals intelligence collection, he states that such policies implicate "the cooperation we receive from other nations on law enforcement, counterterrorism, and other issues; our commercial, economic, and financial interests, including a potential loss of international trust in U.S. firms and the decreased willingness of other nations to participate in international data sharing, privacy, and regulatory regimes ..." This intersection of issues creates particular challenges for existing constitutional, legislative and international governance models.

In the government sector, many of the most pressing problems relate to the national security state that has developed after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. The crucial battleground for combating and preventing future terrorist attacks is the intelligence battleground. In the United States, as well as in other countries, efforts to acquire and properly analyze intelligence with respect to terrorists, their plans and their plots, have expanded dramatically. The tension between these efforts and individual privacy creates frictions that are forcing reconsideration of existing methods of mediating them. Similar reconsideration is occurring in the commercial sector, where consumers' desire for confidentiality in the data that relates to them can conflict with markets for information and commercial and entrepreneurial interests that wish to take advantage of such data to provide new goods and services that consumers value.

This course explores the legal and policy issues associated with concerns about information privacy, in the commercial and government sectors and in the intersection of these two sectors.
GRADING: 30% Class Participation, 30% Participation in a Class Debates and Debate Summaries, 40% 2 10-page response papers

Recent constitutional reconstructions in various parts of the world have called new attention to the problems of institutional design of political systems. In this course we will examine the design and implementation of national constitutions. In particular, we will address the following questions. What are the basic elements of constitutions? How do these elements differ across time, across region, and across regime type? What is the process by which states draft and implement constitutions? What models, theories, and writings have influenced the framers of constitutions?

In the first half of the course, we will review the historical roots of constitutions and investigate their provisions and formal characteristics. We will also discuss the circumstances surrounding the drafting of several exemplary or noteworthy constitutions, from various regions of the world. We will then examine particular features of institutional design in depth. These will include judicial review, presidentialism vs. parliamentarism, federalism, and the relationship of the national legal system to international law.

Social choice theory is the systematic study of how to combine individual preferences, or some other indicator of individual well-being, into a collective ranking. Although scholars have worried about this problem for centuries, most intellectual progress in social choice theory has occurred in the last century—with Arrow's stunning "impossibility theorem," and the development of the notion of the "social welfare function." This latter construct serves as the foundation for many disciplines within economics (such as optimal tax theory or the economics of climate change). It also provides a rigorous and comprehensive framework for thinking about cost-benefit analysis—currently the dominant policy tool in the U.S. government.

This course will provide an introduction to social choice theory, with a particular focus on the social welfare function and on cost-benefit analysis. In the course of addressing these topics, we will also spend substantial time discussing the philosophical literatures on well-being and on inequality. What is the connection between someone's well-being and her preferences, her happiness, or her realization of various "objective goods"? And—on any conception of well-being—how should we structure policy choice to take account of the distribution of individual welfare? Addressing these questions is essential for thinking clearly about collective choice and, in particular, social welfare functions and cost-benefit analysis.

My two books, Well-Being and Fair Distribution: Beyond Cost-Benefit Analysis (Oxford University Press 2012), and Measuring Social Welfare: An Introduction (Oxford University Press, forthcoming) will serve as the main texts for the course, with additional readings from philosophy, economics, and law. The course does not require advanced mathematics. However, students should not be "math phobic". The readings and our discussion will use some mathematical notation to communicate key ideas—as does, of course, any economics text on cost-benefit analysis--and students should not be afraid of seeing this notation. Students should also be prepared to engage in philosophical discussion.

The course will be taught as a 2-hour weekly seminar. Students will be asked to do the reading for each seminar; to write a short (1-2 page) reaction paper; and to participate in class discussion. Students will also write a 10-page final paper. This final paper can either be (a) a critical discussion of one or more chapters from Well-Being and Fair Distribution or Measuring Social Welfare, or (b) a critical discussion of some other book or article relevant to the topics of the seminar.

A limited number of students will be permitted to expand this paper in substance and in length in order to meet the JD-ULWR.

Some believe that recent developments in U.S. politics threaten "the rule of law." This seminar aims to gain a clearer theoretical understanding of the "rule of law" as well as the related concept of democratic governance; and to see how far the twin ideals can be protected in doctrines of US constitutional law. In the theory part, we read seminal works, including Hart's Concept of Law, Fuller's Morality of Law, and Ely's Democracy and Distrust. We then address the doctrine not by a comprehensive treatment, which would be impossible, but rather by a focused discussion of difficult areas - including nondelegation, gerrymandering, judicial independence, corruption, and executive power.

This advanced seminar examines current debates concerning intellectual property, the public domain and free speech, focusing in particular on digital copyright. The goal is to look at issues of academic interest but also considerable practical importance surrounding a central question: how is the public interest defined and defended in formulating the balance between intellectual property and the public domain?

The class will begin by exploring tensions between intellectual property law and freedom of expression, as well as challenges posed by new technologies, in both the United States and European Union. The class will then cover case law and legislation in both the US and EU in two contentious areas of information regulation: database protection and digital copyright. The class will conclude with an examination of current cases, legislation, and debates, including the controversies surrounding peer-to-peer file sharing, user generated content, and video sharing sites such as YouTube.

Grades for the seminar will be based on class participation, Sakai postings, and a final paper.

This seminar will examine important constitutional issues that have arisen in recent Supreme Court cases and will use those cases as a vehicle for considering broader questions of constitutional interpretation and Supreme Court practice, such as theories of interpretation and the role of stare decisis. Among the issues that may be studied are the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms, the Sixth Amendment rights to counsel and trial by jury, the Eighth Amendment right to be free of cruel and unusual punishment, and the right to petition for a writ of habeas corpus.

Enrollment for Current Issues in Constitutional Interpretation is limited to 15 students. Only third-year students are eligible to apply for enrollment, as it is anticipated that students in their final year of law school will be best prepared to engage fully in the course.

A theoretical and practical approach to appreciating the complexities of legal strategy. The course commences with 8 hours of lecture and discussion on a variety of analytic methodologies for addressing strategy - economic, psychological, game theoretic. The remaining 27 hours focuses on specific legal problems with intense role-playing to reinforce the application of these analytic tools in a realistic setting. The role playing will be supervised and reviewed by practitioners who are experts in the relevant legal problems.

In seminar format, this advanced writing course will give students practical experience in dealing with evidentiary issues in a broad range of hypothetical legal situations based upon real cases. Students should either have previously completed Evidence, Law 245, or be taking it at the same time. Assignments and class discussions will focus on identifying and researching issues that arise in different procedural settings, analyzing them in writing, and presenting analysis orally. Issues relating to evidence and proof do not arise only in trials. They are relevant to attorneys' performance in many other procedural settings; ranging, for example, from mediations and contract drafting to appeals, motion hearings, deposition preparation, and witness preparation for trial and discovery. Instruction and writing assignments will survey burdens of proof and standards of review, the practical aspects and attendant difficulties when a lawyer must use different types of evidence to prove a fact or has no evidence, and ethical and strategic decision-making required in varying evidentiary scenarios.

During the past 40 years, environmental litigation in the federal courts of the United States has played an important role in shaping our quality of life. Federal statutes designed to improve air and water quality, manage waste, protect species, and establish rules for the management of ocean resources have spawned numerous federal cases – some filed by affected industry, some by the government, and others filed by conservation groups and private citizens. The resulting precedents affect many aspects of the environment in which we live.

This course introduces students to the progression of a hypothetical environmental case in United States federal courts. The course begins with the appearance of a potential client, addresses several considerations relevant to a decision whether to file a complaint, examines discovery planning and execution, studies the preparation of dispositive motions, and concludes with an overview of the appeal process. The course assumes that the hypothetical case will be decided on motions for summary judgment or for injunctive relief. Therefore, class discussions focus on the manner in which such a case unfolds, with particular attention to developing both the facts and the theory of the case, framing pleadings, and designing and managing discovery. The course explores these subjects from the perspective of counsel for defendants as well as for plaintiffs. Students should emerge from the course better equipped to handle various practical aspects of litigation.

This seminar will investigate the possibility and promise of substantive reason in constitutional law. Doubts that reason plays any non-instrumental role in constitutional decisions often reflect a broad skepticism that constitutional law can be anything other than political decision-making in disguise. We do not share that skepticism, but we readily concede that many constitutional arguments and opinions are poorly reasoned, and that constitutional lawyers often seem unable to offer a coherent account of what they are doing, or what constitutional decision-making is or ought to be, that doesn't collapse into a species of political choice.

Our goal is to explore some of the resources that contemporary philosophy may offer constitutional lawyers in the effort to understand and practice constitutional law as a distinct and coherent form of thought and decision.Attention will be paid to the work of Alasdair MacIntyre and Ludwig Wittgenstein, among others.

Students will be expected to participate actively in class discussion and to prepare a seminar paper, which can be written to satisfy the upper-level writing requirement.

This course supplements Employment Discrimination (Law 232), in which students must be concurrently enrolled to participate. Half of the weekly sessions will employ a traditional seminar format designed to allow students to explore in greater detail many of the policy issues underlying employment discrimination law, including scholarly critiques of existing doctrine. The other sessions will utilize experiential learning techniques crafted to familiarize students with real-world challenges faced by lawyers practicing employment discrimination law. Using problems and simulations drawn from recent cases, students will be asked, among other things, to engage in fact investigation, to develop litigation strategies, to draft litigation documents, and to develop employment policies that may be utilized by employees and employers. The class meets weekly for one hour.

This seminar uses contemporary fiction to explore the intersection between literary and legal studies, with a particular focus on race and gender. Through literature and some film, the seminar examines the role of law in the structure of conflict, personal relationships, social hierarchy and social change, with attention to privilege, perspective, and voice. Authors include Margaret Atwood, Richard Wright, Kazuo Ishiguro, Aravind Adiga, Toni Morrison, Ursula Hegi, and Nella Larsen.

Grades will be determined from class participation, weekly response papers, and final paper pursuing a theme from the course.

Originalism is a major school of constitutional interpretation and a growing field of study. Both public discourse and legal practice commonly feature originalist arguments as well as criticisms of originalism. To engage these arguments, lawyers and citizens should be able to weigh the merits of a diverse set of originalist theories. This course is designed to acquaint you with a number of originalist and nonoriginalist arguments; enable you to judge for yourself the strengths and weaknesses of each; and give you an opportunity to sharpen your own views on the topic. It examines various originalist theories (original intentions, original meanings, original methods, and so on), different emphases in originalist argumentation over time (the “old” originalism vs. the “new”), and forms of argument used in support or opposition (conceptual, normative, positive). The course will be taught as a two-hour weekly seminar, focused on class discussion of the readings. Each student will choose weeks in which to submit a total of eight short papers (5-8 pp.) in response to the readings. These papers will be circulated to all participants via Sakai and will serve, together with my own comments at the start of each session, as a basis for class discussion. Alternatively, students may instead pursue independent research projects related to originalism, submitting first and final drafts (~30 pp.) in compliance with the upper-level writing requirement. Students choosing this option must do so prior to the close of the Drop/Add period.

This course is designed to provide a practical overview of the main labor and employment law issues that arise in the U.S. workplace. Using a variety of approaches to instruction including mock exercises, outside speakers, writing exercises (such as drafting communications to government agencies or corporate clients), and drawing from current developments in the law, instructors familiarize students with the basic concepts underlying the broad range of labor and employment law. Students will explore issues from multiple perspectives including the employee, the employer, the union, and compliance enforcers. As a result of this course, students will attain an advanced, yet practical familiarity with such issues that can be applied in any business context. The course will be co-taught by practicing attorneys who have experience both as private practitioners with large firms and as corporate officers for a Fortune 125 company (former partner in private practice and Senior VP of Human Resources for a Fortune 125 company; General Counsel of a $1 billion privately-held company, formerly Deputy General Counsel with a Fortune 125 company). Students should have taken the basic labor law course or have a familiarity with the National Labor Relations Act and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. A Liberal Arts background (knowledge of history, sociology, and/or political science) is a plus.

Technology is changing the practice of law in all fields and venues. This course will provide you with the theoretical and practical foundation to understand these changes and to positively impact your firm's or organization's responses to such challenges. Areas of focus include ethical obligations surrounding technology use; privacy and security; practice management; electronic discovery; information literacy (including advanced research techniques) and media literacy; and presentation and courtroom technology. Readings and guest speakers will address both general technological issues as well as specific legal and ethical ramifications. Students will be graded on participation, exercises and a final project that is presented both in class and in writing.

American law attempts to protect individual interests in personal dignity and to guarantee a robust system of free expression. Both concerns are implemented, in part, through the common law of dignitary torts, and US constitutional law addresses their overlap and potential conflict. This course will cover the torts of defamation, invasion of privacy, and intentional infliction of emotional harm, and the related constitutional doctrines that the Supreme Court has developed since 1964.

This class examines exchanges and transactions that are traditionally taboo, and sometimes illegal. Importantly, what constitutes a taboo trade is culturally dependent, changing over time and across cultures. For example, typical taboo trades in modern western societies include organs, blood, babies, sexual relations, votes for money, and a wide range of other issues. In other cultures and other times, however, humans were sold as a matter of course, whereas land was considered inalienable.

Students will discuss reading selections from law, economics, anthropology, psychology, and sociology. During most class meetings, we will host speakers (generally visiting faculty from other law schools) who will discuss current projects related to taboo trades.

To gain a working knowledge of the unique role the Supreme Court plays in our legal system—identifying and resolving important disputed recurring issues of federal law—and of the demands thus placed on lawyers who practice before it;

To provide a very intense experience in honing your legal writing skills, by the preparation of two short (10-12 page double spaced) briefs reflecting different phases of Supreme Court litigation, each to be prepared over a separate four week period, with on-going one-on-one interaction with the professor and detailed comments on the final brief;

To study the oral argument process as now practiced in the Court, including moot court arguments be each student in a current case, study of actual arguments from the present Court Term and, if possible, attendance at one or more moot courts by arguing lawyers and discussions with those lawyers.

The uniqueness of practice in the Supreme Court stems primarily from the certiorari process, by which the Court identifies the 1% of petitioning cases it will hear on the merits. Lawyers on both sides must convince the Court that the case at hand does or does not present a legal issue of sufficient moment and controversy as to presently demand the Court's attention. We will discuss in detail the features of a case that enhance or detract from its chances for certiorari. After a case is granted and goes forward on the merits, the selective nature of the Court's jurisdiction—and its focus on resolving recurring legal issues rather than simply deciding cases—shapes the lawyer's approach to the case in important ways, which will be considered in class sessions dealing with the drafting of merits briefs and the role that amicus briefs play in the Court's work.

All of these goals will be pursued through the study of three or four actual cases from the present Term. The greatest amount of effort, by both the students and the professor, will be invested in the two short brief writing assignments. These assignments, an Opposition to Certiorari and a Reply Brief on the merits, will demand both an understanding of the nature of the Supreme Court's process and a firm grasp on the law and facts of the particular case. In both instances you will prepare an outline, meet with the professor to discuss your approach, and then prepare the final brief. Neither brief will require extensive research beyond the materials cited in the case filings you will be provided with. Both briefs will demand an ability to think and write in clear simple English, and self-critically evaluate and revise what you have written—with feedback from the instructor - to make it as coherent and persuasive as possible to the Justices and their clerks. A limited number of students may satisfy the upper-level writing requirement through an additional credit of work and with the permission of the instructor.

Optimistic, happy people outperform their counterparts on almost every measure of job success with the notable exception of one group: lawyers. Psychological research suggests that on the whole pessimists perform better in both law school and private practice. Since research also shows that pessimism can be a predictor of depression and/or lower levels of life satisfaction, this raises a question among academics who study well-being: what do we do about the lawyers? Or is the research insufficient to make such sweeping claims?

This class will examine why the "pursuit of happiness," a phrase written by a lawyer, has proved futile for many members of the legal profession and those aspiring to its ranks.There is considerable data (that predates the current economic crisis) indicating that lawyers and law students suffer from greater rates of depression and anxiety than other professions, along with accompanying social maladies such as substance abuse. There is also considerable evidence of high career dissatisfaction among lawyers, and many others are leaving the profession or performing well below their capability. This seems unfathomable given the high levels of education, affluence, and respect lawyers enjoy (or will enjoy), factors which predict happiness and job satisfaction in other areas of life.
This class will present the research to date on lawyers and happiness. We will examine the scientific data and academic literature on lawyer maladies, while examining holes in the collective wisdom and why the majority of lawyers are quite content. While acknowledging the very real problems of the profession, we will address the question many lawyers and law professors legitimately ask – so what: who said lawyers are supposed to be happy? We will then review simple actions law schools, bar associations, law firms, and individuals can take to improve the collective health of the profession, as well as the productivity and engagement of its individual practitioners. In the course of so doing, will learn the basic well-being measurement tools and practice interventions shown to increase individual happiness. This is a serious course grounded in the latest science; while there will be fairly intensive reading and writing requirements, they will be within the bounds of a one-credit hour course, and should add to the overall well-being of each student.

Writing is integral to most aspects of state and federal civil law practice including communicating effectively with clients, asserting clients' rights, and advocating for clients in litigation. This two-credit hour advanced writing course helps prepare students for the rigors of legal analysis and writing in general civil practice by providing a variety of writing experiences including opinion and demand letters, pleadings, motions, and trial briefs. Assignments will be based on a number of substantive issues of statutory and common law including property, contracts, torts and civil procedure. Writing assignments will involve initial drafts, instructor feedback, peer review, and final revisions with students building a portfolio of their work during the course of the semester. Research skills will be reviewed and practiced. In addition to content analysis and structure, emphasis will be placed on the ethical and professional considerations involved with each assignment. The semester will culminate in oral arguments on motions before members of the bench and bar.

This two-credit-hour advanced writing course will help prepare students for the types of writing that are common to complex civil litigation, while introducing them to electronic discovery, with a focus on practice in a large law firm. Because most complex civil litigation and federal white collar investigations now involve e-discovery, understanding the financial, organizational, and ethical challenges it poses is critical to today's practitioners. Writing assignments will all surround one hypothetical federal lawsuit that raises common e-discovery issues. Students will be associates in a hypothetical law firm and will handle the e-discovery aspects of the firm's defense of the lawsuit.

Priority in registering for this course is given to J.D. students, specifically those who have not yet fulfilled the upper-level writing requirements. LLM students are allowed to enroll if fewer than fourteen J.D. students enroll.

This course will provide students with the opportunity to learn several different types of persuasive writing used in federal litigation. The course will focus on one hypothetical matter involving federal law.

Priority in registering for this course is given to J.D. students, specifically those who have not yet fulfilled the upper-level writing requirements. LLM students are allowed to enroll if fewer than fourteen J.D. students enroll.

This course will explore the ways in which the institution of slavery interacted with the law in the United States and how the law defined freedom and the practices of freedom. The first two weeks will focus on slavery and the law. The rest of the course will focus on the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments. For added credit, students may satisfy the writing requirement by enrolling in Law 794W.

Students enrolled in Law 794 Law in Slavery & Freedom: From the Historical to the Contemporary, may earn an additional credit by writing an additional 25+ page paper, due at the end of the semester . *LAW 794W must be added no later than 7th week of class.*

This advanced writing seminar will help prepare students for the types of writing that are common to all civil litigation, while introducing them to oral and written advocacy in an arbitral setting. As access to courts becomes increasingly difficult due to overcrowding and budgetary constraints, and given the limited number of cases that make it to trial due to the cost of litigation, familiarity with the process of litigating in an alternative forum is critical for today's practitioners. Assignments will arise from a hypothetical arbitration over the proper interpretation of a provision in a collective bargaining agreement between a sports organization and its players' union. .